1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mini-studio equipment which is used for photographing a stationary object such as jewelry.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, even a relatively small object is photographed by a skilled photographer in a photography studio using expensive facilities and materials and a lengthy process.
Whenever photography is performed, it is necessary to prepare a stage as a support, to install a white or gray paper as a background, and to place an object to be photographed on the stage. Also, in cases where a source of illumination such as an electric flash or a tungsten lamp is used to illuminate an object to be photographed, the source of illumination must be rearranged whenever photography is performed. Since it is difficult to completely reproduce lighting conditions, the quality of pictures varies. Also, a considerable time is required to adjust lighting conditions to eliminate such a variation. The cost of the above-mentioned facilities and the cost and time required for lighting adjustment are a considerable portion of the overall costs of the photography.
In a conventional photography studio, a stage setting of a large scale is required irrespective of the size of the object to be photographed. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce photography costs even when the sizes of objects are limited and only a reasonable quality is needed. Also, in the case where the transportation of an object to be photographed to a studio is not possible, the studio facilities cannot be used, and therefore it is difficult to maintain the quality of photography at a suitable level. Moreover, in the case where photography is performed using a silver halide film, the film is transported to a laboratory to process the film. Since the quality of pictures cannot be checked during the photographing, a system has been demanded which allows a user to check the quality of photography up to the final stage on site.
Recently, electronic cameras (called digital cameras) have developed to a degree that they can be used for commercial photography.
Moreover, when the total balance of the equipment of a photography studio is considered, it can be found that there is no benefit to use expensive equipment only at part of the studio. Therefore, a need arises to reduce costs by averaging the grades of various equipment.